The disclosures herein relate generally to portable computer hard disc drives and more particularly to an impact shock absorbing mounting apparatus and method for such hard drives.
Hard disc drives are one of the most common sources of field failures in computers. Within a hard disc drive housing are several thin glass discs, i.e., magnetic media, each having an associated flying head. Thus, hard disc drives are one of the most fragile components of the computer in terms of sensitivity to impact. This is particularly true in cases where a major component of the impact forces is normal to the surface of the hard drive media. Hard disc drives are more sensitive in this orientation because there is opportunity for the read heads to come into physical contact with, and cause damage to the discs.
Upon impact, the heads bounce and contact the discs. The discs may be either broken or scored by such impact. Loose particles may also result from such impact which are free to move around inside the hard disc drive cassette and contact other parts of the drive thus causing new failures. Furthermore, such impacts cause shock to the entire hard disc drive cassette, not just to the heads.
Attempts to cushion the drives against shock from impact have produced elastomer feet in the bottom or rest surface for a cushioning effect of the portable computer housing on its associated rest surface. These feet also serve as friction surfaces to limit lateral movement of the portable computer relative to its rest surface. Cushioned mounts placed within the computer housing provide vibration damping but have not addressed the issue of where such mounts should be located to provide maximum protection from impact shocks. This is an important oversight since protection from the forces from impact shocks require an entirely different solution than protection from vibration.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus for providing cushioned impact shock protection for hard disc drives in portable computers which protection is strategically located to substantially reduce damage from impact forces acting normal to the bottom surface of the portable computer housing.